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Tizen App Challenge Deadline Extended as New Developer Tools Become Available

New Industry Support for Mobile Operating System Offers Developers Multiple Ways to Compete for $4+ Million in Prizes

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Oct 30, 2013) - The recent boost in submissions to The Tizen App Challenge, the skills-based contest for application developers building cutting-edge new mobile apps, is a result of new support and contributions from several mobile platform and software development providers. To allow application developers ample opportunity to capitalize on the recent expansion of the Tizen ecosystem, the contest deadline has been extended to December 8, 2013.

Tizen is an open source, standards-based software platform supported by leading mobile operators, device manufacturers, and silicon suppliers for multiple device categories such as smartphones, tablets, netbooks, in-vehicle infotainment devices and smart TVs.

New Deadline for Tizen App Challenge With all submissions now due December 8, 2013, judging will take place December 9 through January 17, 2014. An award ceremony recognizing the grand prize winners will be held in 2014. Developers can enter the contest by submitting eligible apps to the Tizen Store and achieving certification for Tizen 2.2, and then entering at: http://www.tizenappchallenge.com.

A total of $4.04 million will be awarded to more than 50 developers in nine categories, providing an incredible opportunity to tap a new mobile ecosystem while reaping unprecedented reward. Official rules available at http://www.tizenappchallenge.com.

Tizen Primed for Developers WIth Variety of New ToolsDeveloping native, hybrid or HTML5 apps on Tizen is easier than ever before as a number of new platform providers announce the release of development environments that easily produce Tizen apps. Whether creating new apps or exporting pre-existing ones, the following technologies offer Tizen support, allowing developers to more quickly and easily publish to the Tizen Store:

appbackr -- appbackr now integrates the Tizen App Challenge into its Xchange API, which scores apps based on quality and provides valuable incentives. Developers with qualifying apps can submit their apps directly from the build tool;

Cocos2d-x -- Cocos2d-x is one of the fastest 2D engines for game development compatible with HTML5 browsers;

GameSalad -- GameSalad is a leading mobile game creation platform used by more than 700,000 developers worldwide who have created more than 200,000 games;

Marmalade SDK -- The latest release of the cross-platform C++ SDK includes Tizen support. Marmalade is also offering cash incentives and other rewards including a free license and a device when porting games to Tizen. For more information email Tizen@marmalademail.com.;

Scirra -- Construct 2, known for superb visual effects that also goes by the moniker "Photoshop for games;" and

YoYoGames -- GameMaker: Studio, used by both novices and seasoned developers, delivers prototypes in hours.

The Tizen Software Development Kit 2.2 (SDK 2.2) can also be used for Tizen app developers who want to take full advantage of improved APIs and new, powerful features of the release.

To achieve cross-platform and device flexibility, Tizen uses HTML5 as the main focus for application development, allowing developers to maintain a single codebase. According to the industry web site HTML5test.com, Tizen is the No. 1 ranked OS for HTML5 in development today, scoring 492 out of a possible 500 points.

Tizen Driving Toward In-Vehicle Infotainment The Tizen code base functionality is also being extended into vehicles. The Tizen in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) solution will enable modern portable applications with rich Internet and multimedia to consumers. Application developers, designers and system integrators building mobile, embedded systems and desktop solutions in C++ now have access to a single Qt Creator-based SDK that works with the Tizen IVI solution.

Additionally, in anticipation of the Tizen 3.0 release early next year, the Tizen IVI team has released Tizen 3.0-M2-Aug for In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI). Based on the 3.11 Linux kernel release, this preview features an upgraded Wayland, the preferred display subsystem; enhanced Tizen Web RunTime (WRT); and new middleware components, including PIM manager (SyncEvolution), a speech-recognition framework, and SmartDeviceLink, an open-source version of Ford's AppLink mobile API.

Tizen Developer Summit Korea The Tizen Developer Summit 2013, the 3rd Tizen conference and first one located in Asia, takes place November 11-12, 2013, at The Ritz Carlton in Seoul, Korea. The recently announced schedule offers keynotes and sessions for a range of attendees, including Tizen developers, general app developers, ISVs, platform designers, operators, OEMs, hardware vendors, software vendors, and open source enthusiasts. A free Tizen Devlab & Hack-a-thon will start in the evening of day one and continue through day two of the show. Early bird registration ends Thursday, October 31, 2013.

"We've been really impressed with the flurry of new developer tools and activities in support of Tizen," said Brian Warner, Senior Member Services Manager for Linux Foundation Collaboration Projects. "We firmly believe in the value of competition because history has shown time and again this is the best way to foster vibrant, robust ecosystems."

Grand prizes for the "Games" categories are $200,000, and grand prizes for the "Non-Games" categories are $120,000. Games will be judged based upon scores in four criteria: entertainment value, visual design, performance, and controls and input. Non-games will be judged based upon scores in four criteria: usefulness, visual design, performance, and controls and input. The top 10 HTML5 apps will be eligible for an additional prize of $50,000 each.

About the Tizen ProjectThe Tizen Project is an open source Collaborative Project at the Linux Foundation. Linux Foundation Collaborative Projects are independently funded software projects that harness the power of collaborative development to fuel innovation across industries and ecosystems. The Tizen project is governed by a Technical Steering Group that focuses on platform development and delivery along with the formation of working groups to support device verticals. For more information about the Tizen and to get involved, please visit: https://www.tizen.org/.